# Blurring Out Car License Plates in News Video

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blurring-out-car-license-plates-in-news-video/217595>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 7, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blurring-out-car-license-plates-in-news-video/217595 "2003-12-07T19:44:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blurring-out-car-license-plates-in-news-video/217595/1 "2003-12-07T19:44:26Z")

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Why are automobile license plates sometimes blurred out on TV? If one could garner personal information from a car’s license plate number and commit malfeasance, what’s to stop them from standing in a parking lot and writing down numbers?

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blurring-out-car-license-plates-in-news-video/217595/2 "2003-12-07T19:47:40Z")

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It’s probably an effort by the news concern to avoid any potential liability claims, or, I suppose, a claim of invasion of privacy. It’s hardly a universal practice.